


Penny For Your Thoughts

by Verbophobic



Series: Snartster [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Don't be confused, Eventual Romance, F/M, NSFW, No idea what else to tag, Romance, Someone dies, a very volitile pairing but also the best of matches, and a maniulator, but a legit burn, cancer/leo, fast burn, he meets his own goals and end before anything else, in like chapter six, not just snart loving someone, not telling you who though, snarts a jerk, their goals and ends ate just similar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-10 09:07:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15946196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verbophobic/pseuds/Verbophobic
Summary: Prue's motto was to not let life get her down, she'd hit rock bottom while young so she couldn't get any further down, right? One would surely hope so. Seeing a penny heads up she can only hope that it means luck, that whatever was going on right now would be for the best. Taking the coin from the ground she hold it up and out to the man with a gun trained on her. She knew she wasn't walking away from here. As queasiness bubbled up in her stomach and she felt like throwing up she forced out a smile and touched her stomach as if to calm it and keep from throwing up in fear. "Penny for your thoughts?" Perhaps she'd been around her snarky boyfriend far too long as saying this to the man with a twitchy trigger finger might not be the best of plans. Snart/Oc (putting this here because as a ready I like to know exactly which ship I'm reading and not be surprised later on.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This may or may not go anywhere as it's not my main focus it's just something i wanted to get out there. If anyone is interested in Beta'ing for it hit me up. I'd love someone to chat with about plot idea's and all. I don't plan for this to be a long story or anything so hopefully you'll all like it.

Chapter One: Prologue

“Prue? Prudence Forester?” Fingers snapped before her face and caused her to jerk back from startle. Her brown eyes widened enough that the slight green hidden within them because a fair bit more noticable. Looking up from where she was seated to the boy that stood next to her table she just blinked at him as if willing him to continue. “Penny for your thoughts?” He pulled a penny out of his pocket to hold out to her so that she may take it.

As her thin fingers reached out to grasp the coin she hummed softly. ‘Penny for your thoughts’ had started with her a few years ago in college. This boy before her had been seated at a table with her and had seemed so utterly lost to something he’d been thinking about she couldn’t help but pull a coin out of her pocket and proffer it up to him, asking what he was thinking about and if he’d share for a penny. Since then they had shared this penny back and forth with the promise to always answer the question that was requested with the penny no matter what. No judging of the answer allowed and that the question could only be denied if it was something that caused pain. Neither really had a limit that they wouldn’t answer and it was how she’d learned this boy had been a foster child much like herself.

“Jesus Berry, trying to give me a heart attack?” Lifting a hand and pressing it to her chest as if to still a wildly beating heart, she heard one Bartholomew Allen, snort with humor. “Fine, what was it that you wanted to know?” Barry took a seat across from her and glanced around Jitters, she knew what- or rather who- he was looking for. “Her shift starts in ten minutes and you’re going to be late if you wait for her and to ask the question.”

“Fine, fine,” Barry outed and Prue just snickered, she’s known about his crush on Iris for almost as long as she’s known him. “I was wondering why you seemed so spacey. I said hi and you were so out of it you didn’t even react.” Prue huffed heavily and thought on how to answer that.

“I’m just… thinking. I know-” She snapped before he could retort, “That doesn’t qualify as an answer. But that’s all I’m doing. Just thinking about the future and us and-” Iris walked by waving as she went to clock in. “The Particle Accelerator.” That drew Barry’s attention right back to her. “It’s a large step forward but… It might also be a step back.”

Barry put his chin in his hand and looked Prue over, his eyes raked over her face as if searching for some question- or rather some part of the answer she’d left out- and then grinned. “I’ll still make time for you. Just because my best friend couldn’t care less about science and the new technologies does not mean I’m going to forget about her.” Prue scowled and early threw the penny back at him. If that’s how he wanted to be-!

“I’m not worried about you forgetting me!” 

“No, but you are worried he won’t meet up for your weekly nerd game night.” Both looked over at Iris who smiled widely at both of them. “Don’t worry, Prue, I’ll make sure he sets his sunday’s aside to continue meeting with you to play that weird card game.”

Before Barry or Prue could reply to her the boy’s phone began to ring and he had to excuse himself, something about being late, and Prue leaned back heavily in her chair. “You like him~” Iris sat down across from Prue and passed over a steaming cup of coffee which had the slightly younger girl smiling. Prue’s face burned a bright red and she looked way. So what if she had a silly little- large- school girl crush on Barry Allen? He had eyes only for the beautiful girl that Prue was avoiding looking at. “You should tell him,you two would look so cute together.”

Tell him? Tell Barry that she liked him, like liked him? No way! “I- it wouldn’t even matter, Iris, he likes someone else and he thinks of me like- like a sister. It’s just a stupid crush and it will go away.” Brushing the other girl off like usual Prue glanced around Jitters and found it odd that someone would be wearing a parka while sitting instead of taking it off like everyone else did in this warm building. Shaking off the odd worry she glanced around before stopping at the man one more time, seeing that he was quite handsome, and wondering why she found such an older guy attractive. He had to be in his mid thirties and she was only twenty-four-

Snapping once more brought her attention back to the real world and out of her odd thoughts of the older man. Iris giggled at her and her face turned a bright red. “Thinking about Barry?” Prue snorted before shaking her head.

“Actually no. And I know it’s only a little crush because I still find others attractive. Besides, Barry’s too… Barry for me. Now, I’ve got to go before I become like him and end up late too.” She stood with Iris and they shared a quick friendly hug before she began to walk out. As she passed the man she found more oddities about him as his icy eyes glanced at her, the goggles hanging around his neck seemed to feel familiar, like she’d seen him or them before. Shaking it off she continued on her way out least she be late.

.~:*:~.

Prue had been on her way towards the Particle Accelerator Launch ceremony, running and going as fast as she could, because for once she was late. Prue was usually Barry’s opposite, while he seemed to never have enough time and always be late she was usually early and found she had too much time on her hands. Having lost track of time after meeting with one of her friends she’d noticed the clock and had excused herself before booking it out of there. 

Her feet carried her fast, making her fly while upon the ground, and she darted between people and cars that were stopped at the lights. As she continued her run, hoping to make it on time to meet with Barry at least- seeing as he was always extremely late she should- in theory- meet with him just on time. The sound of shrieking breaks alerted her to something being very very wrong. Turning her head it felt like time froze, the light was a glaring red yet still the car blew through it. 

In the background an explosion rocketed the city and a wave of something blew out, throwing her brown hair, the underside dyed a stark blue, into her face and eyes, she screamed and prayed the car would miss her. Yet the large SUV still barreled right towards her as something (which felt a lot like a shock of static electricity) consumed her. 

The Last thing Prue remembered was turning to look at the car which had ended up on the other side of her, as if it had just drove through her like it would a ghost, and then she crumpled to the ground passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

The days since the particle accelerator explosion passed slowly for Prudence and she found herself working hard to get her degree, something she had taken a break from two years ago at this point. Today was another online lecture day for her and rather than sitting at him watching the online class video’s she entered Jitter’s to sit and noticed how crowded the shop had become. Apparently after the accelerator exploded and destroyed places that were closer this little shop was one of the few nearby still standing. 

Thanking the barista after getting her coffee Prue turned to look for somewhere to sit and made an unhappy heavy sighing sound. There was nowhere except at tables with others but… All of the barstools were filled and most of the tables had at least two people, one on each side, so she couldn’t just ask to sit at someone's table or even ask to join them. The booth in the back corner was the only place with a single person and the opposite side not taken. The man that was there didn’t seem like the kind to approach as he gave off a cold air that screamed for her generation- the younger generation- to stay away.

Looking the man over that sat there she hedged closer and chewed her lip. He was an older guy in his late thirties or early forties, his hair was a dark salt and pepper shade with less grays and more of just a hint of them. His eyes were glued to his computer and the ice blue color had her feeling frozen to her spot. What was most odd was that she recognized him from a few weeks ago simply because he wore a blue parka indoors. The man suddenly made a sound and looked up at her annoyed. The way his eyes bore into her kept her where she was and she wanted nothing more than to bolt “Just sit and stop shifting around.” 

Almost instinctively she sat heavily, it was like she didn’t have a choice but to follow his order. “Thank you.” Prue’s tone was soft so as to not disturb him too much further making him grunt and briefly look her over before silently dismissing her and going back to looking over his computer once more. Whatever he was doing on it had his full attention and she was to be nothing more than a fly on the wall.

Relaxing she smiled and sipped at her coffee before putting a bluetooth into her ear and taking out her phone to log into her online seminars and begin the classes. He only glanced at her once more before focusing solely upon his computer again. Prue watched each and every uploaded video per class and the small notepad she had next to her began to be filled with small marks that few could understand. Not many of her generation even knew what shorthand was let alone how to use it.

Time slowly ebbed by for her and the day progressed with Prue using her phone and the man across from her staying on his computer. Her one filled page turned to two then three and kept growing the more video’s she watched. Even when the foot traffic from the morning rush slowed and dwindled she stayed at the booth with the man rather than going to take her own spot. “Prue?” Looking up Prue saw Iris and she hesitated before standing up and leaving her supplies all on the table with the stranger. She didn’t even think about it as she did so. 

“Let’s step outside,” Prue urged and led Iris outside. “Sorry, didn’t want to disturb my table mate. There was nowhere to sit and he was kind enough to let me join him.” The other woman nodded and Prue took note of her stance. One arm wrapped around her middle to hold tightly to her elbow and her face an odd expression of sorrow and guilt. Something must have happened with Barry! “Is- is he awake?”

Their friend Bartholomew Allen had fallen comatose after being struck by lightning caused by the explosion. That had been nearly two months ago now and there was no sign of him waking anytime soon- well that had been yesterday. Coma patients could wake up at any time with no prior indications or they could start giving indications for days before waking up. Prue hoped that was the case and that while Barry had been deeply comatose yesterday today he might be up and trying to walk.

“No. Actually he’s not doing good. His heart keeps giving out or something. They are transferring him to STAR labs for tests and because this is their fault they will be taking care of him free of charge.” Their fault? Prue didn’t understand but thankfully it must have showed upon her face because Iris began to further explain. “The night of the Particle Accelerator explosion…”

After the conversation with Iris Prue went back inside and ordered another coffee and then asked the Barista to make one of whatever the man she was sitting with had, she would buy him a coffee too as thanks for allowing her to sit. With the promise to bring over the drinks when they were ready Prue went back to her seat and realized that she’d left everything here with the man including her phone and charger. “It was buzzing. Dead or something.” He waved to the wire that was now connected to his laptop. “It was annoying me.”

Sitting back down she looked him over once more before opening her mouth to speak to him, “Thank you, uh- I didn’t catch your name.” The man looked at her before looking irritated, as if he didn’t want to speak or give his name and her just saying something made him angry. Before he could say anything, as he parted his lips about to speak, the barista came over and set the two cups down and left quickly. 

Looking from his cup to her he hummed and his expresion lost part of the hard edge. “Leo.” He grunted out before he went back to work on his computer and he began to sip at his coffee that had been dropped off. Hiding her smile behind her own cup she said nothing more and picked her phone back up to continue to work on it. From that point on she caught him glancing at her every now and again as if curious as to what she could be writing as shorthand looked like a bunch of random lines and squiggles.

Unless he was old enough to actually know shorthand too. Leo looked old enough for sure but shorthand was like altin, a lost language. Soon enough though he seemed to lose interest and began to once again focus on his own laptop while she continued taking her seminars and notes. When her final one finished for the day she stood up and cracked her back which caught the man’s attention. Checking the time her stomach churned in hungry agony and she blushed as it made a sound. His lips pulled back in an amused smirk and he closed his laptop before passing her wire back to her. 

Biting her lip she burned bright and opened and closed her mouth several times as she failed to think of what to say. Finally as he unplugged her phone and stood with his laptop she determined she had to say something, anything at this point. “I- I’ll see you arend, Mr. Leo.”

“Just Leo.” He said without missing a beat and she turned redder. “I’ll be here around this time again in two days.” Then Leo was walking out of the store with the laptop bag in his hand and leaving Prue to watch his walk. The coat obscured a lot but still she got a decent look at him as he’d stood and she hadn’t missed how he was mostly muscle. Briefly Prue imagined how his butt would look as he walked away and she covered her face with her hands from embarrassment.

“Get yourself together, Prue,” her mumbles were far too low for anyone else to make out. “He’s too old and besides, you have that crush on Barry.” Not that Barry will ever like her in that way back. Leo likely wouldn’t either so she should just get rid of that thought before it laid roots. The man probably thought of her as some lonely little girl and was acting out of the kindness of his heart towards her. There was not a single clue in her as to who Leo really was. 

.~:*:~.

Leo, more commonly known as Leonard Snart, sauntered out of Jitters and down the road towards where he was going to be picked up by his business partner Mick Rory. He’d been going over the plans of the new National Valley bank and rewatching the opening ceremony videos to see the floor layouts himself and compare them up to the blueprints. They mostly matched though there were a few rooms not listed on the blueprints he’d caught glimpses of the doors too. “What took you so long?” Mick’s tone sounded just as one might thick fire itself should, deep and gravely.

“Nothing. Just got an extra cup of coffee is all.” Snart knew his own voice had often been referred to as being smooth and cool, much like the cold weather he was so fond of. As he settled in for a short ride to the warehouse district he pulled out a napkin and looked over the markings he’d copied from the girl’s notebook at one point. He was curious as to what she was writing and what the language was. “Mick, do you recognize this?” He held it out and Mick looked at it for a short time before shrugging.

“Looks like the shit they tried to teach in school for writing.”

“It’s not cursive.” Snart put the napkin into his pocket, annoyed that Mick was of no help. Not that he put a lot of stock into Mick and brains.

“Nah the other shit. The write faster shit. Something about each line has a sound and each squigle was a single word and not needing to write every word.” Snart blinked then pulled his phone out to google it. He knew it was familiar but he wasn’t sure from where and with Mick’s explanation it seemed to come back to him.

“Shorthand.” Snart would admit to being surprised by two things today, Mick knowing what short and was and recognizing it, and that a girl so young knew how to use it. They’d shifted it out of schools not long before that girl was even born. “Interesting~.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any readers ever have chapter title suggestions please do not be afraid to tell me.


	3. Chapter 3

Two days, that’s all the time Prue had to prepare herself for meeting her new companion. Leo had said same time two days later and here she was getting up early and trying to make herself look decent without overdoing it. She wasn’t going to do makeup or anything but she was going to try to tame her hair and dress nicely. As nicely as mid january would allow which meant jeans and a nice but thick shirt. 

Stepping back she checked herself over in the mirror and sighed heavily. Perhaps she was trying to hard to look nice. The guy had said nothing more than his name and when to meet with him again, he had to have a good solid ten years on her, and it wasn’t like this was a date or anything. Reaching down she grabbed the hem of her shirt and removed it before going back to her dresser and looking through it. This time she grabbed a thick tan turtleneck sweater and plane tee shirt. Better, more relaxed looking than the bright pink off the shoulder top from before. Her dark blue blue jeans didn’t need replacing but her knee high boots seemed far too fancy for a simple run to the coffee shop.

Running her fingers through her hair she allowed her face framing bangs to escape and tugged the rest up into a semi-messy ponytail. It now looked like she cared enough to put the effort in in pulling her hair up and keeping it tamed but not overly so by keeping it perfect. Being a woman in this age was insane! With a huff and roll of her eyes she tugged on her water resistant black work boots and then grabbed her keys and left. 

Shooting a text to Iris she kept it simple as they were friends in the barest of senses. They were friend through a mutual friend; Barry. ‘How is he?’ Prue sent the message knowing that Iris who was like a sister to Barry would be keeping a close eye on Barry and his recovery. Shoving the phone and keys into her bag she grabbed her pad and headed out now that she was ready. She worked yesterday and had told her boss she wanted today off so here she was heading out and walking to Jitters. Parking was atrocious in this city after all.

Entering the coffee shop she took off her thick and warm winter coat, shaking it off near the wore as some flakes of snow had begun to fall. Glancing around she saw him at the booth and hesitated before deciding to try and play it cool. Todding the coat over her arm she got into line and watched the television that they had turned to the weather. Apparently a big winter storm was about to hit. As she focused on that she didn’t even notice that Leo had looked up and saw her, he stared at her trying to will her to look at him but her focus stayed upon the screen and he glanced up to see it too. 

The weather, how annoying. He knew it was cold out, knew it was snowing, so that was useless to him. Looking back to Prue he took note of how she looked this time. It was… nice to say in the least. She didn’t dress like some of those her age, wearing skimpy outfits to get attention and freezing in this cold front that was hitting. She dressed practically from what looked like solid slip resistant boots, to her snug jeans, and a nice warm looking knit sweater. Her face from what he could tell was bare of makeup except whatever made her lips shiny and her hair was like a lot of the kids now a days, dyed some funky color. But it was a practical dye job where it was just the underside dyed a nice aqua blue and not a gaudy full head of hair the bright color.

Finally her brown eyes looked away from the screen and glanced around until they landed on him. He watched as they light up with joy and the hand without the coat lifted to wave at him. Leonard gave her a small little nod then reached across the table to pull a cup into view and she left the line to sit across from him. “You didn’t need to get me a coffee.” Her voice was low and soft, shyness he could pinpoint from a mile away at this point.

“No, I didn’t.” He knew his tone came out wrong to many people, that he always sounded snarky or like he was being sarcastic. Leonard hated that some people would just laugh at him and his tone before they knew him. Right now this was a test for her as he had seen her interest in him and he was old enough to know when he was interested in someone too. There would be no beating around the bush from him, he thought she was cute and if she was honest in her own interest he wouldn’t mind playing around.

“Thank you.” She gave him an earnest smile and lifted the cup to sip from and his own lips pulled back. He liked her. She acted older than many that were her age, she had manners, and she knew she wasn’t entitled (for an example to the drink). Leonard’s own lips pulled back in his own smile though it was more of a smirk. She would be perfect, if only he could corrupt her. No one in his line of work stayed innocent for long. Not even the flings.

“You’re welcome.” He always did like a thank you. Lifting his own cup up to his lips he began to drink as he opened his laptop. “Prue, what is your real name.” Leonard began to focus upon the screen though and she wasn’t sure he cared or would be paying attention. Her hesitance must have been obvious because he heaved a sigh and looked at her. “Must my eyes be on you to chat?”

“Prudence,” Looking down into her cup she missed his smirk before he went back to looking over his plans. “What about you? Is Leo your full name or is it short for something?” She peeked back at him and saw he was paying attention to his computer but figured he was still listening, he had been right to say there was no need for him to be watching her. Eyes weren’t necessary to speak with someone after all.

“I prefer to be called by Leo,” by strangers, Leonard added before scowling and looking up at her once more. He was attempting to possibly date her if he liked her, he’d hate to be called Leo the entire time. “You should call me Len. No one else is allowed to.” Mick called him Snart and his sister called him Lenny. No one called him Len if they wanted to keep their tongues so she would be the only one allowed to. 

“Len,” Prue repeated as she looked out the window and he watched as her lips quirked up. “I like it. Better than Leo anyway.” His eyes flicked around to make sure none paid too much attention to them and he did see a few looking over but they would glance away and whisper. The way they acted was less like they knew he was a wanted criminal and more like they thought he was far too old for her.

“How old are you anyway?” His words were spoken in the same tone he always used and in the pit of his stomach something clenched. This sentence was one that sounded more sarcastic than anything else he’d said to her. Some might think it was a barb and he didn’t want to chase her off just yet. It wasn’t as easy finding partners at his age and the younger generation seemed to laugh about his age if he looked over anyone too long. It was right here and right now he realized that he may never have something he’s always wanted and that angered him. Forty would not be his end game if he got to have any say about it.

“Hm? Oh, twenty-one.” Leonard’s heart seemed to stop in his chest but he kept up outward appearances. For a split second he was understanding of the looks from around Jitters. He was more than old enough to have fathered her! Looking at his computer he tried to brush off the anger and disgust at himself when she snorted and drew his attention back. “Ish I guess. The uh exact date isn’t known. That’s just the closest they could figure. I might actually be twenty-two but who knows.” A joke, she was joking and trying to put him back at ease.

His lips pulled back into a large grin and he closed his laptop, elbows landed on the table and his fingers interlocked so he could rest his chin upon them. “Oh~ Well i guess forty doesn’t bother you, does it?” She mimicked his posture and smiled sweetly at him, her cheeks burning and he knew he’d found someone interesting. Perhaps he wouldn’t corrupt her as he’d originally planned, keeping her innocent and cute seemed so much more interesting. 

Of course he’d have to figure out what darkness she was hiding first and then make that decision. No one teased like her, joked about something like twenty years, without having some sickness hidden behind their green flecked eyes. Reaching out he ran his knuckles across her cheek then stood up abruptly. “I’ll be seeing you around, Prudence. I have a job to do soon and won’t be back for a while. If you wait for me it’ll be worth it~” Leonard paused then set money on the table. “To pay for the coffee.” And then he was leaving and she was looking at the twenty as if she couldn’t understand it.

The Barista came over with a plate and looked around confused. “What- there was a guy here- his food?” Prue lifted up the twenty and held out out. Apparently he got her more than just coffee, this really would have been a date had he not up and left like that. The girl set the breakfast sandwich down and took the money with a shrug. If she’d delivered to the wrong person she still had her money and it was just a sandwich, it could always be remade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting these chapters out one right after another after i type them up. This isn't a story I'm trying to go slowly on or hoard chapters of like my Lost Boys fic. One day I'll go back through and edit and rewrite this but for now just getting it out is enough for me lol.


	4. Chapter 4

‘I’m a wanted man, I’ve got blood on my hands, do you understand, I’m a wanted man~’ Prue bobbed her head along with the tune that played solely for her. Hands sunk deep into her pockets and she hunkered down as she walked. Her head covered with a large hat that hid her hair and scarf snugly wrapped around her neck and face. The small bluetooth that was hidden in one ear her only saving grace at the moment, she was sure that if she hadn’t had it to listen to she would never willingly walk to or from work- not that she had much of a choice.

The wind blew and she squinted as she leaned into it, fighting the harsh gust. If she wanted to keep her job- which was less of a want and more of a need- she had to get to work today even if she was a bit late. Her boss had said that if she was late fine but she had to be there. Prue knew she looked ridiculous as she fought the wind itself. She had on three pairs of sweats, a thick ridiculous parka she had swore she’d never buy but still purchased when she realized it was ‘hella warm’ (as she had put it upon trying to explain it to Barry), hat, glove, and scarf combo so bright pink it burned her eyes- safety first when walking in a snowstorm where one could barely see, with the only bits of her visible being her eyes. 

She had a long walk from her home to the restaurant she needed to be at seeing as the busses had stopped running for this storm. By the time she made it into work (nearly two hours late) she was frozen and nearly soaked through. “Get changed and throw your…. That into the dryer.” The manager looked her over and waved to her ensemble. Under the scarf Prue grinned finding her friend’s skeptical look. In the basement she closed the door and quickly changed throwing her sopping clothes into the dryer they kept mostly for washing the cloth napkins.

Upon emerging from the basement, dry and in her uniform her friend and manager looked her over. Black pants crisp from being ironed, nice white button down shirt, and a small black half apron wrapped around her waist. Prue’s hands were lifted high as she raked her fingers and nails through her hair to get it into some kind of semi conforming style before tugging and twisting it up into a neat bun. The blue underside catching eyes and making her a striking image that had her friend jealous of how pretty she was. Prue had a natural beauty to her, innocent with a heart of gold kind of look. 

When Prue blinked and shrifted to look at her friend the older girl was blushing and refusing to look at her. “For now work on cleaning, we are likely going to close in a few hours.” The older girl said and Prue huffed and pouted. 

“I walked here for this, Tabitha.” That’s the only backtalk Prue gave as she walked off to grab a rag and a spray bottle, she’d work on wiping down the tables and maybe later enlist one of the bus boys’ help in moving the tables to do a sweep and mop of the entire place. Bluetooth still in her ear she hummed and worked on cleaning, neatening, and overall organizing of the place. The later it got the less likely patrons would come in seeing as the storm was just getting worse and worse.

When Tabitha heaved a sigh Prue looked over at the woman who seemed bored out of her mind as she wiped down the bar for the third time today even though no one other than herself had touched it. “I guess we can close up.” She’d checked her watch and Prue looked at her own too. Four hours of nothing but cleaning. “Get changed and we will leave.”

Not that she wasn’t happy to be able to go home and snuggle up in front of a heater in her ‘comfy clothes’, but she wasn’t gonna make more than a few bucks for today and now she had to walk home in the blizard it had become. Into the basement she and into her nice and toasty clothes she went. She was sweating by the time she made it up the stairs. The bus boy burst into laughter as he and the chef looked between tabitha and Prue. The girls had the same uniform, same hair style for the shift, but Prue was bundled up like that kid from the movie ‘A Christmas Story’ and Tabitha was the average cute girl. All Tabitha had on was a decent peacoat, a cute dark red hat and glove combo, finished with a black infinity scarf that was still loose and in her fingers her keys. The two girls couldn’t look more different if they had planned it.

As bundled up as Prue was, her only response to the laughter was to bend her fingers as much as she could and try to flip the boy the bird, it barely worked and caused more laughter. As they all parted ways Prue hunkered down and began to make her way home by dragging her feet through the snow. 

The walk wasn’t too bad, and it wasn’t that it was too cold either, in fact the city was beautiful. It was just that she was lonely. Pausing she realized just how much she depended on Barry as her friend. On days like this over the past two years of knowing him she would be headed to his apartment to spend the snow days or getting picked up by him to head to his family’s place for hot cocoa, marshmallows, and board games. With him in a coma she was utterly alone. Most of her college friends were out in the world following their dreams, married even, and here she was pining away for a comatose friend.

Prue missed Barry. She really, really, missed him. He was her best friend, her ‘twin’ as some of her other friends had said. When looking for her they would just look for the tall boy with a goofy grin to find her. They might have chosen vastly different majors but their love for math had been how they’d met, the classes they’d shared, and how they became as thick as nerdy thieves could be. A sniffle brought her out of her revier and she wondered when she’d started crying.

Tilting her head back to look up at the white-gray sky she breathed deeply. The city was beautiful, she had a job she liked, and there was someone she found handsome and was making an effort to talk to; yet here she was utterly alone. Closing her eyes she struggled to breathe and had to pull her scarf down to free her face. In, out, in, out; she worked to keep her breathing even and was thankful for the chill to the air. It worked to help keep her grounded, keep her from going too numb as she fought off panic.

There was no way to know just how long she stood there, knee deep in snow, freezing practically to death before she tilted her head back down and covered her frozen face once more. She needed to change, to fix this. Snuggling back down into her scarf she thought as she began to move and noted that her legs were thoroughly frozen. Implementing change would be hard and she had no idea if she was even up for it, but if she didn’t take that first step how would she know?

The walk home was slow and her legs literally burned from the cold and the movement. After entering she kicked her boots off and stripped right then and there. Looking down she saw that her legs were as red as her panties and made a face. The burn from cold stung and a shower would be agony, but she needed to warm up. Her phone was dead at this point, as was her bluetooth, so she made for her room. Might as well grab her clothes as she plugged her devices in.

Prue found that after her shower the best course of action would be to snuggle under her large comforter and sip hot cocoa while watching a movie. Unfortunately she was out of marshmallows and her cocoa tasted off because of it. The movie made up for it some and she hesitated before deciding to forgo food at the moment, too much effort and she was comfortable. It was somewhere around when the little boy was singing about a shoe in the movie that she dozed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a side note, when i complete this story i have every intention of going back through each and every chapter and editing it all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, two chapters in one day? Someone take me to the doctors for something must be wrong with me! lol jk.

“So, are you ever going to tell me what’s going on?” Prue’s head snapped up from the customer she’d been talking to and her eyes went comedically side as her heart skipped several, terrified, beats. The girl that had startled Prue burst into laughter and nearly doubled over with it. The customer too chuckled and Prue rolled her eyes as she excused herself.

“I’m at work, Alice, what do you want?” A small box was pulled out and set on the bar counter where Prue had moved to, filling her customer’s drink order. Looking at the small rectangle Prue rolled her eyes and walked off to give the drink to the customer. Turning back around she paused to look over Alice.

The woman seated at the bar couldn’t be classified as a girl any more, not with her looks after all. Her breasts had to be two- no three times the size of Prue’s nearly nonexistent cup size, her lips were full and looked fairly outy thanks to the pink lipgloss she always seemed to wear. Alice was always the pretty cheerleader girl in school and Prue couldn’t figure out why the other bothered with her. No wait, she actually did know. Alice looked towards the window and her perfect blonde hair, nearly platinum in color, swung freely from her pigtails. She’d always been the blue eyed blonde babe back in school and she played the part from her cutesy makeup to her ditzy acting. Prue had never been fooled and called her out on her bullshit.

Of course she’d learned not to because some of the girl’s ‘friends’ cornered her after that and she went home with a black eye and bloody nose. But Alice had sought her out after that and dragged her along (unwillingly) to somewhere hidden and from there the prettier girl had sat her down and pulled out a chess board. Pretty and smart were one thing, but pretty and nerdy would have been hell for Alice back then so she’d hid it well. If anyone had ever learned she knew how to play chess, let alone liked it, her entire life would have fallen in shambles. People would have dug and found out many of her dark secretes and odd fascinations.

Now though, no one would mess with Alice. The girl was still absolutely stunning in looks, her style like that of a model. Her shirt was adorable being deep pink and off the shoulders but it was form fitting and long sleeved so she kept warm. Her pants were dark blue jeans that could almost classify as black and fit her like it was sewn onto her directly.Her black UGG boots were high class looking even if they were UGGs and Prue knew they would cost more than one of her own paychecks. 

But the most drastic reason no one messed with her was that she was no longer afraid. Openly she played chess and took self defense classes, she didn’t hide her ‘weird’ obsession with ‘dolls’ (Alice had a fairly decent collection of well maintained ball jointed dolls which she practiced her sewing and makeup on in a way), and the main reason no one would mess with her- the men’s bathroom flushed and she heard water running before a man exited while drying his hands. Everyone knew who he was. Oliver Queen, the man who had survived five years on a deserted island, walked over to ALice and leaned down to share a kiss before he headed towards the door to leave. 

“You and Queen?” Prue stood behind the counter and opened the small rectangle box, spilling the pieces from inside right into Alice’s hand. The pocket chess board was set back down and the teeny tiny magnetic pieces were slowly set up. “When did that happen?”

“Nuh-uh, you spill first.” Alice turned the board to give Prue the white side and the brunette scowled. Damn her, the advantage for information. Was it worth it? Reaching out Prue turned the board back and held it so. “Fine.” Obviously Alice was not pleased but she wouldn’t press the issue and began by moving a pawn. “After the accelerator explosion I left the city.” Prue listened as she looked over the board and moved her own pawn. “Bumped into him in Star City and he offered to buy me a new outfit so the one he just poured coffee all over could be dry cleaned.”

“You said yes.” Her guess was accentuated by another white pawns movement and her own black counter. Alice scuffed and gave Prue a look that caused her to pause. “You said no?” Brows rose high enough she nearly missed the white’s move which drug her attention back to the game and a scowl.

“I told him I’d send the bill.” They moved their pieces silently for a few minutes before Alice spoke up. “I caught him doing something he shouldn’t. From there he became like a friend and one thing led to another. Now, you.” When the rook moved Prue scowled and set her captured piece aside.

“There’s… someone.” Her offer was reluctant and Alice grinned, she’d always been good at pulling teeth for Prue. Getting what the shorter never wanted to tell and working her over slowly. If anyone ever wanted to learn something that Prue didn’t want to give, Alice could ‘easily’ get it out of her. She was always patient and methodical; if she was bad then she’d be a mastermind criminal. Prue was thankful they were like friends.

“You and Barry finally admitted to liking each other. Took you long enough, I could have sworn he’d never get over that crush on the black girl, what was her name?” Prue had been about to move her knight but paused and Alice looked up sharply. “Are you the rebound?” When prue finally moved her knight she missed how she set herself up for failure. 

“He’s comatose, Alice. Still deeply in love with Iris and probably dreaming about a life together with her. I met someone though. Nice guy and all but we haven’t gone out on a date or anything. I don’t even have his phone number yet.” She wasn’t about to tell Alice she’d only met Len twice and spoken to him a total of a few hours. Even if Alice spared her king just now.

“If you get his number I know someone that can dig up all the dirty info on him~” Alice grinned and while Prue gave a small smile she knew her friend was serious. Moving a piece to save her king she lost her queen and stood for a minute thinking.

“I like him, Alice. Don’t look too much into him and ruin it for me. He’d not like us, he’s older. Not our generation of idiots.” Placing her finger on her own king she laid him down and walked off towards the table that had looked around for her. 

.~:*:~.

Alice looked over the small board and saw something she had missed. Prue had given up as a way out of the conversation. The more Alice looked and more angry she got and she needed to find out about this man her friend was interested in. Prue was worse than herself. The girl had been bullied and beaten too many times to count and had been dealt a bad hand in life from day one. But she had survived, she was here, thriving.

Schooling her ugly look she watched Prue’s back. Alice knew herself and would admit to much of what was wrong. She was harsh, cold, overbearing, she would attack without need and liked to have the final say. Prue had once said she gave Alice the information because she knew that holding out was far too much effort on her own part and she’d give in at some point so why bother holding off the inevitable. While alice was always the fast acter- diving in and burrowing in deep enough she couldn’t be pulled back out- Prue was slowly, methodically. 

She would move her pawns and let her big players get taken out. Setting up her opponent in a trap they wouldn’t see until it was too late and couldn’t back out of. Prue let her enemies beat themselves by thinking they were beating her. She learned that sometimes being hit was the best way to hit back. Her mother shook her so bad she nearly died as a baby but the woman ended up in jail. Her father had beat her bloody and nearly broke her childish body but he ended up on the wrong side of a gun. The foster parents that refused to feed her ended up with food poisoning so bad that they were found our for neglect (they blamed prue for it but it was in fact their own fault and using bad food for making a meal they refused to share with the child). Time and time again those that hurt Prue slowly fell into their own demise from doing what they did, not a finger of hers was lifted.

Looking back at the board Alice realized she too had fallen into that trap. If prue had just moved a single pawn rather than give up it would have been checkmate. SHe wasn’t in check but if any single pawn moved she would have been and no matter where she looked and no matter where her king moved she couldn’t get out. Pawns, always the damn pawns with Prue. The queen was nothing more than a sacrificial piece for the other girl and used as bait, goading her opponents in for an attack that they think is the kill but will just draw out the pieces they rely on.

Prue let Alice think she was getting the information by giving information. Think she was winning the game by taking the queen and getting close to the king. But Prue had the white king trapped already and had been toying with Alice, to give the information she was willing to then call an end to it. Alice looked over to Prue and couldn’t place a finger on it anymore. There was something about Prue that had her backed into a corner that she couldn’t see.

A plane girl standing at five feet and a few inches, boring hair only spiced up by the blue she’d added, eyes that would be considered boring from afar but the moment you were close the green flecks took you by surprise. Her job was boring, waiting on people in a plain uniform, with her hair twisted up into a messy bun but was really neat and never fell apart. Prue was unassuming and nice, an innocent in looks and actions but in reality she wasn’t as nice. She attacked with a barbed arrow that you had to push it through or tear yourself apart further. Innocent but protected by herself.

If Prue had any idea what Alice was thinking then she’d be the first on board to call her friend crazy and send her off. She had nothing to do with anything Alice was claiming. As a child her mother had been caught red handed shaking her likes soda bottle about to explode; her father had brought her to the ER so many times they had to report and someone with a hero complex and fondness for children shot him point blank; and the foster parents had refused to feed her when she’d been bad and ate without her. Just because she was good at chess didn’t mean she was a manipulative mastermind; it simple meant she was smart and thought out all her moves far enough in advance to win a strategy game.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING NSFW IN THIS CHAPTER It's very distinctly marked and has no real plot points other than to urge their relationship deeper.

Prue stood in Jitters watching the news with several others while waiting on line. They focused on the screen and the more Prue watched the more worried she became. The storm outside wasn’t calming and it looked more and more like the blizzard was going to shut down roads and possibly cause power outages. She just wanted to stay home but she had been called in to work so here she was trying to get a hot coffee and get there. “Well, I hadn’t expected to see you here at this time.” Turning she found herself face to chest with Len. 

“Yeah, gotta head in to work.” A brow of his rose and he glanced to the television then back to her. 

“It’s a state of emergency.” She looked to the flashing letters across the screen just as there was a loud boom and the lights went out. “And the powers out.” Prue rolled her eyes as he stated the obvious and phones began to buzz as a warning went out. He snorted as he grabbed hers from her hand to look at the warning. “Blizzard has roads closed and the mayor is calling for people to stay inside at all costs.”

Taking her phone back she pocketed it and trusted what he was saying. “Well… I guess I’m going home.” She looked to the barista who seemed to not understand that no power meant no coffee. “Got any plans?” Looking up at him she watched as he blinked in shock then smirked. 

“So you do have an older man kink~.” Prue blinked confused at him before her face heated up enough to make him practically feel it. “I’m kidding. My plans… are canceled.” He pulled out his phone and shot a text to someone. “With this weather my friends can pull it off without me.” Tossing an arm over her bundled up shoulders he led her towards the door and out into the storm. “Which way?”

Hunkering into him for the added warmth he provided she began to lead him on where to go. They walked for nearly twenty minutes, her fighting the wind and him helping her as if he felt nothing, before they made it to a door. Fumbling with her keys Len snatched them and unlocked the door. Entering they walked up a flight before she unlocked the door to the apartment on the second story of the two family house. “Nice digs~” Prue snorted at him trying to use the slang but said nothing as she kicked off her boots. 

Len hesitated when he saw her taking her shoes off but took his off too and then his coat as she shed her layers. Her parka, the three sweats, and a hoodie all came off leaving her in her uniform. “Make yourself at home, I’m gonna change out of my work uniform.” Looking at her he grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to him. 

Prue’s heart stuttered as she realized she had a strange man in her dark house, didn’t know much about him, and her phone was somewhere among her pile of shed clothes. “I was wondering,” He smirked down at her, “if you had hot cocoa to make?” and then let go before walking passed her to look around, likely in search of the hot cocoa. 

Cheeks burned warm as she lifted her hands to cover and hide them from him, not that he didn’t already know. “Len-” She spoke before she could stop herself and now he paused to look at her. He stood in front of the kitchen entry and just watched her as she tried to form her thoughts into words. Words she wasn't ready to speak but felt that she should anyway. “What- what are we?” His curious look shifted into something more serious and he walked over. Just like on their walk home he tossed an arm over her shoulder then led her to her own living room to sit on her little couch.

“This is a talk that requires sitting.” She followed his lead as he sat and seemed to spread out as he did so. “Right now we are nothing, not even friends.” He saw as her shoulders sagged and a hand moved almost of its own accord to set on her head. “That’s not to say I don’t want more. You’re young and cute, I like that. From what I know of you we would be nice together. I’d be more worried about you being wary of my age.”

Prue looked up at him nodding that she agreed with most of that, “I like that you are older. You act… my generation acts like children still, they all seem to want to play around and never take things serious.”

“I’m a man, and they are still boys.” Lenard knew what she meant. It was the opposite for him it seemed, women his age all acted like they were twenty, dressing like little sluts without a care that they didn’t look nice nor that some men had morals of some sort. Len saw sleeping around as one thing and relationships as another. He watched as men just tossed their women to the side and took new younger versions only to slink back licking their wounds when the girls tire of them and use their newfound skills for their own generation. “What are you, Prue, a girl or woman?”

Leonard stayed relade, legs spread wide and arms tossed over the back of the couch as he relaxed. He knew Prue was watching him and even with his head leaned back he watched her from the corner of his eye. The moment she made her decision he knew and he waited, she would lead this dance. What he wanted was to throw her over the arm of her couch and show her who he really was, but he knew she would run and it would be a waste. One time with this girl would be nice but he was feeling his age recently and he wanted something more than just a quick fuck. He could get that anywhere but a relationship with a good girl, that was something he’d have to work for and couldn’t just steal.

Surprise had him moving to grasp her waist as she straddled him. Lifting a brow he watched her and waited, he hadn’t meant this by his question but he wasn’t going to refuse it either. “I- I want to be with you, I think. Len there’s something about you, about your quiet that draws me in and I want to learn more.” Leaning down she paused inches above him, lips so close he could feel their warmth.

“I’m not a good man, Prudence. If we do this then you have to accept that. I’m no hero and I never will be.” His lips ghosted over hers as he spoke, his warning clear and she stayed where she was, thinking. “I’ve done many bad things and one day I won’t be here. I can guarantee that but I will return. What’s mine is mine and if you pick me then you are mine.”

“I’m not a bad person. I can never see myself doing anything illegal, not even a parking ticket.” His lips pulled back in a grin, it was coming to a close and he was eager to see how it ended or began. “I guess if I were to do one bad thing, liking you would be acceptable.” He snorted at that.

“I’m not going to touch that innuendo just yet, you are far too innocent.” Then one of his hands oved fast to grasp at the back of her head and pull her down. She made a small ‘eep’ sound and he kissed her hard. Their lips moved together and their tongues danced around each other. She tasted like coffee Leonard realized, it was like the liquid permeated her very being to run through her blood. He tasted like chocolate, the very beverage he’d been teaching her about.

Len held her tighter suddenly and from below her his legs tensed. She didn’t get to question him before she was gasping and he was over her. Blinking she looked to the side then back to him questioningly. He’d tossed her to lay on the couch and he now hovered but daren’t kiss her anymore. “We need cocoa,” Irritation flashed across her face and she gritted her teeth. Cocoa? THat’s what he’s thinking of right now?

“Why?” Prue wanted to know, needed to know. Why did he stop, why was he trying to run, why not where this was headed?

“Because if I don’t stop now, I won’t stop.” His muscles bunched as he went to push himself up off of her and she grabbed his black shirt and pulled him down, she may not be abd like him, but she was an adult woman and she wanted him in that way. Lips met and as he pushed hard at her, forcing her into the couch once more and not leaving this time, she knew she’d get what she asked for.

.~:*:~. NSFW AHEAD (incase I forgot to mention in my A/N) .~:*:~.

Keening beneath him she was eager to see what he looked like under his shirt. He always wore his bulky parka and just seeing him in his tight shirt showed her how much muscle he really was. As the kiss broke and they gasped for air she couldn’t help but goad him on, she’d always been a glutton when it came to these kinds of activities and everyone seemed to think she was chaste and soft, unable to take a bit of roughness. Prue knew what to say to get most of her partners to react so instead of just telling him, she attacked with her words, “Not bad, for an old man, but don’t tell me that wore you out already~”

Leonard pulled back with a scowl to look down at her. Face flushed and pupils dilated were both signs of clear arousal yet she was speaking lik- His scowl softened and his lips pulled back. “Retract those claws, Kitten, I’ll give it to you how you need it~ Remember I’m a man, not a boy.” He stood up and tugged both of her legs onto the couch before stradling them so she couldn't move them. If she wanted rough he would give her soft, he’d tease her until she was crying and begging.

Embarrassment filled her but he didn’t make her feel shamed as others might. His icy fingers began to unbutton her shirt slowly from the bottom to the top and under her white shirt he revealed an ice blue bra with little sparkle snowflakes. Len’s eyes raked over her from top to bottom and he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her down when she tried to lift to remove her own shirt. The longer he stared the more she shifted and he smirked further before leaning down to lick at her skin. Inch by inch he found his way up, skipping her breasts where she desperately wanted him to continue up and nip at her neck. The sound she made earned her a kiss there and then he was lifting her, fingers skimming her back and feeling rough skin but he didn’t notice, helping to get her shirt off he unclasped her bra and tossed it aside.

“Len,” Her voice was airy as she looked up at him, a cocky smirk seemed to reform. Leonard had barely done anything to her and she was feeling every little thing from the anticipation. Leaning down his lips met hers just as a hand grasped her breast and gave a gentle squeeze. The moan she made was swallowed by him and he kneaded her breast before slowly kissing his way down to her other. His teeth grazed the nipple lightly and she knew he’d drive her insane before the he was through. 

Each press of his fingers, every lick or nip of his teeth, it all drove her insane and she knew that the rough play she’d always indulged in was nothing compared to the gentle teasing now. Len was every bit the man he was promising and not the boys she’d been with before. Prue was driving him crazy in her own way with every small sound she made, be it a gasp or mewl, with every tiny movement she gave. It thrilled him to no end to know this was a first for her, the first time someone was giving her what she needed and not what she thought she needed.

Soon his fingers began to move and he found the button of her pants, slowly he popped it and unzipped them. “Last chance, kitten, we haven’t gone too far yet.” He lied, it was too far but he could stop, he would if she said so, he would never hurt a woman. 

“Please- don’t leave- Len,” Prue looked up to him and he watched her eyes carefully with his own, looking for any hidden fear, disgust, or possible regret. Seeing none he gave a small nod and shifted to tug her pants down, fingers catching on her panties and pulling them too. After discarding them he quickly removed his own shirt and pants. Today wasn’t about making a show for her but giving to her what she needed and later they could deal with wants.

“I won’t leave you kitten, you are mine now~” their lips met once more and one hand reached behind her to hold her close while the other began to touch her as only she had touched recently. The mewls she made had him rushing a bit, pushing a finger between the folds and pressing a bit hard against her clit. Her back arched and her legs spread around him, begging for more and faster rather than the slow and carefully he was giving. It took Leonard a lot of restraint not to take her up on it and press in. Instead he moved forward and pushed a finger into her and pumped slowly no matter how hard she tried to wiggle and get him to go faster.

“Len~” Her voice was rough and she held tight to him as her breathing caught, “Please- we can go slow later,” Leonard felt his cock tighten with his own need and it twitched as he looked at her, catching her heated look. Quickly he pressed more, adding a second then third finger and as she mewled with no signs of pain he pulled his fingers away to replace them. The head poked at her ready to press in eagerly but he paused. 

Len was forgetting something in the moment and he couldn’t for the life of him remember what. The More she wiggled and mewled the more he seemed to decide it didn’t matter. He pushed in with one hard jerk and seated himself in the heat. His teet dug into her shoulder and he groaned in bliss just as she cried out. The small woman under him writhed and bucked trying to get as much as she could seeing as he wasn’t moving himself. He’d found himself a little vixen it seemed. “I’ll give you what you want and teach you later.” Leonard promised and knew his own tone had dropped an octave. 

Prue got what she’d wanted as he began to move fast, holding her tight to himself and sweat began to mix as they both moved together, arching and bucking hard against each other in a carnal bliss. Len was strong, strong enough Prue couldn’t breathe when he threw his head back and groaned loudly, hips pressed right against hers and she felt a warmth spread through herself. WAlls tightened and she keened lowly as her own eyes rolled back and she finished. His cock seemed to throb in her, pulsating every last bit of his orgasm out and she went limp in his arms as he released her and kissed her. 

“How about that cocoa now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the NSFW looks like it was written by a bored asexual, it was. Sorry. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	7. Chapter 7

Leonard stood in front of the stove, hands on either side of the appliance as water boiled and his eyes were wide as he stared. He knew he had forgotten something while they’d had sex, and now he remembered what. Still naken he stared down at himself and knew that no rubber had been worn. He prayed she was on birth control as most women seemed to always be. Trying to not worry about it too much he got the cups from a cupboard, a small search revealed them, and the cocoa and mini marshmallows from where she had told him.

With the cups of steaming cocoa mix now ready he sauntered back into the living room. He watched as she grabbed her clothes and smiled at him before scurrying off to her bedroom to get redressed in what he would assume was her relaxing clothes. He pulled his own briefs back on and his pants over them but didn’t bother with his shirt yet. When Prue came back out he intended to mention their little forgotten mistake but then he remembered what he saw on her back as she scurried off, the feel of the skin remained upon his fingertips and he had to know, “What’s on your back?”

Prue’s shy little smile fell away and he saw her pale. Standing up from the couch he moved to her and set his hands on her upper arms, rubbing them in a soothing manner. None but his sister knew he could be this way and he planned to keep it like that with only this girl added. “It’s okay, I’m not going to leave you because of some tattoo or whatever the scars are called.” Scarification if he remembered correctly (which he did) but he brushed it off as not caring much.

“It’s not-...” Prue bit her lip and worried it before pulling from his grip to turn away. Anger bubbled in his stomach until she lifted her shirt and removed it. Pushing her hair aside the anger nearly overwhelmed him. His rough fingers touched each and every line, the welts and indents alike. He stilled at one on her left side near her lower back before reaching around and finding another side to it on her front. Moving away he clenched his hands in fists and he saw them shaking with anger. 

“How old were you? Who did it?” Leonard knew he didn’t want the answers and Prue knew it too. They both also knew neither would rest well until the answers were given.Prue pulled the sweatshirt back on then slowly moved towards the couch, pausing next to him and carefully unfisting his hand and holding it before leading him to sit with her. She seemed to cul into herself as she pulled her legs up and stretched the hoodie over them.

“I don’t know his name, I was far too young to have learned it. My father had a drinking problem and my mother wasn’t around. He was volatile when he drank and I was the only one there that he could hit. That last one, that’s the last one. He shot me and someone heard, they came and they were… He was… He took the gun and pressed it to my father’s head before pulling the trigger. I think I was four or five I don’t really remember.” She watched as his own hand lifted to rub at a scar on his bicep, her story triggering a memory of his own and she knew that he had scars much like her own but his were less harsh, like whoever beat him tried not to leave too many marks while her father wanted to see blood.

“Your family?” Len didn’t need to say much more than that for her to know what he was asking.

“My mother was put away when i was an infant for neglect or abuse or something. She shook me so hard that there was worry I wouldn't make it. Neither her nor my father had any family listed so I went to foster care. A few failed families later I aged out and have been on my own since.” Looking him over she noted that on his chest under his pec on his right side was a tattoo, a name in beautiful calligraphy. “What about you? Who is she?”

Making eye contact they both then looked to his chest and his hand moved from a scar to the name, “Lisa is the one good thing my father ever did.” His jaw tightened after that and he spoke no further. Wanting to defuse the tense air that had come about she reached for her cocoa and snorted. “What?”

“Mini marshmallows,” His eyes narrowed as if he wanted to argue about something but she rose a hand to stop him and he let her continue. “You had to actually go looking for these, they were on the top shelf of that cupboard behind the pasta.” Lifting the cup she pleasantly siped the cooling beverage and felt it warm her as it went down.

“Hot cocoa is not hot cocoa without mini marshmallows.” Snart wasn’t going to let her try to convince him otherwise and she just smiled at him and nodded in agreement. Pleased that his woman was a mini marshmallow kind of girl he planned to swipe good brands of both cocoa and the little white fluffs for her for their next date.

“Oh, before I forget,” She grabbed her phone off the small coffee table and held it out towards him, “Can i get your phone number?”

.~:*:~.

Leonard laid in bed with Prue snuggled up to his side using his shoulder as a pillow as she slept. Her pants were gone and she was using only a sweatshirt while he rested in his briefs. Bright blue hair caught his attention vaguely as he played with it and he thought about what he’d learned. She was alone like him but he at least had Lisa. His good for nothing father was away causing havoc elsewhere. Now Prue had him but would he always be here for her? He intended to and he hadn’t yet been caught except for in his younger years. 

To keep her safe he couldn’t tell her too much yet she deserved to know that when he went away for his business trips it was because he was a thief and too much heat was on him. If he didn’t come back it would be because he’d been caught and she should learn his full name but just knowing his name could put her in even more danger too.

Having a relationship with an innocent he didn’t want to corrupt was not as easy as he had first figured. He needed to keep her safe from his associates and the cops. If she’s ever found to be his woman she could plead she knows nothing but that would only work is she really did know nothing. On the other hand if she knew nothing she could easily be a target for a disgruntled associate that he’d pissed off in the past or one of his future ones. There was no way to truly keep her safe as he wished to if she’s innocent and he can’t let her keep her innocence without endangering her safety- 

Len made a startled sound as his nose was flicked. Glancing down to the bleary eyed girl cuddled up to him he grunted at her. Prue obviously understood what he was ‘asking’ with the sound because she gave him an answer. “Stop thinking so hard, I can hear your brain turning from here. Whatever it is just do what you feel is right.” She patted his chest over his heart then snuggled back into him and breathed a soft sigh of contentment. 

He didn’t know what was right, or even what felt right. All he knew was that she felt right. “Go back to sleep, troublesome woman.” He felt her lips twitch against him as she smiled before relaxing and falling back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't already noticed this is now part of a series called Snartster, all Snart/Prue things lol. So right now there's another fic up it's an AU for on the wave rider it's just a cute little drabble that I did while at work. When i finish this and when go back through it to reedit it all I will be adding the edited fic to there too. Just a heads up for y'all.


	8. Chapter 8

A few months later.

Prue sat in Jitters smiling up at Len, he was relaxing in the booth with one arm tossed across her shoulders and she was leaning into him. Laughter was barely hidden from her, the snickers quite clear to Len along with her shaking, his own amusement more cleverly hidden by the cup he lifted to his lips. He’d told her what she would need to know about him, he was a criminal and if ever asked just say that she knew he was up to something sketchy but not what, and right now they were laughing at some common thief featured on the news who’d been caught on his first heist.

‘I’m a wanted man, I’ve got blood on my hands, do you understand, I’m a wanted man~’ Prue jerked in startelement before grabbing her phone as Len choked on his cocoa (technically hers but he decided he wanted it and as a thief he stole it fair and square- aka she rolled her eyes and switched with him). WIth her cheeks a burning bright color she looked at the ID and stood quickly. “I’ll be right back.” Then outside she went, missing his narrow eye’d look. He saw the name, some guy called Barry was calling her.

Standing up slowly he made his way outside, door moving slowly so as to make no sound and he stood directly behind her. “I- I’ve missed you. I’ll be there soon, I promise.” That was all of the conversation Leonard heard before she ended the call and turned around only to walk right into his chest. “Jesus christ-! Len! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Leaning down he kissed her hard, grabbing her and holding her still and she melted right into him like always. He smirked as he broke the kiss and his pleased look only grew as she took a few moments to come back to her senses. “Is everything alright?” He didn’t let on that he was jealous or slightly- very very very slightly- worried he might lose her to someone who's just returned from her past.

“Huh, oh. That. You remember I mentioned how my old college buddy fell into a coma?” Eyes narrowing he nodded and she knew by that look he was jealous. Wrapping her arms around his middle, under his ridiculous parka, she hugged him tight. “He woke up. He lived and he woke up, Len. It’s a miracle.” Smiling up at her boyfriend the tears pricked at her eyes and he looked away suddenly. A hand touched the back of her head and held her close.

“Guess you’re gonna go see him then?” Prue held tighter to Len. She wanted to but…

“Not today.” Leonard looked at her in surprise and she smiled up at him. “Today is us, you have a job soon so that means you’ve gotta go. You only ever tell me about your jobs the day before you leave. I’ll go see Barry tomorrow.” Leonard couldn’t help that he smiled down fondly at her. He felt his heart swell just seeing her returned smile and knew he was smitten. How had he gotten so lucky as to find the one foolish girl who saw the best in him and refused to doubt him even though they both knew he was no good?

Neither of them heard the camera clicking near by as its shutter went off, pictures of them taken for whatever reason. Both of them went back inside to their table with their drinks right where they’d been left and more photos were taken. The girl snuggling up t Leonard Snart once more and stealing his drink right before he could drink out of it. Her passing it back and him kissing her head. The photography lowered their camera and as they looked through the images grinned wide. This was too perfect!

.~:*:~.

Prue woke up in her apartment alone and wearing Leonards shirt. It was early still, not even eight in the morning, and he was gone. Had this been a few months ago she might have been upset or worried that she’d done something, but this was the way he was. No goodbyes. Goodbyes meant there was a chance to have a change of heart so he’d leave in the early hours and shoot her a text before cutting his phone off. No distractions either.

He had admitted to looking forward to the end of a job just to read all the messages she’d leave him. After hearing that she wasn’t shy about shooting him several messages a day just letting him know she was thinking of him or missing him, that something happened, even complaining about something or other just to get him to laugh when he got back to her. Dressing and leaving her house she twisted her hair up into it’s usual work bun but added in hair sticks seeing as she didn’t have work today. It was just hot and her hair always stuck to her neck and made her annoyed.

As she stood outside her door and wiggled the stick into her hair, fighting it when it didn’t want to go passed the hairband she used, her hands paused and her eyes saw a glare of something. Pretending to give up, take the stick out, and put it in again she focused and saw the person leaning against the wall opposite her. Some shady guy wearing a large hoodie with the hood pulled up and a camera in his hands.

Taking out her phone she looked at the messages and saw Len had just texted her something. ‘Long trip. Won’t be back for a month or two again.’ Hoing she wasn’t too late to catch him she tried to call but it had been too long and the phone went right to voicemail. Biting her lip she shot him a text back and was worried that he wouldn’t check the phone at all before he was ready to come back.

‘Saw a bird watcher today, they seem to be looking at a kitten though. Not sure what to think of that but figured you’d like to know. Can’t wait to see you when you get back.’ They had created a small code for texts in times like this. She was the kitten and the bird watcher was either an enemy or the cops. Maybe- doubtfully- he’d check his messages one more time today before shutting his phone off completely.

With that done she glanced around again and the guy was gone causing a chill to run down her back. Walking fast she found herself getting calmer the closer to the bus stop she got and relaxing when she saw four other people waiting too. It was unlikely any creeper would do anything with others around. By the time she made it to Jitters she had practically forgotten all about the creeper. “Iris hey,” She waved to the girl who worked as a barista and her brows twitched, Iris didn’t look different, like she didn’t look like she was excited to see Barry- unless… Was she the only one he called?! 

Perhaps he realized he had feelings for her and not Iris. Prue’s heart dropped and she really hoped not. Months ago she would have been ecstatic but now she- she- oh. She needed to tell Len. She had to tell him she loved him because she just realized it right here and now. Please, she silently begged, don’t let Barry like her. “What’s up with you? Where’s your sugar daddy~?” The tease had Prue grunting and rolling her eyes. It really annoyed her that Iris joked about Len like that.

“Len is away on business. I just wanted to ask you something. I have a friend coming soon and I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mention him. Or his age. My friend might get a bit protective if he knew I was dating someone twice my age.”

“Wait, so who am I not telling about whom?” Iris went to a table to pour some fresh coffee into someone’s cup. 

“Don’t tell him about Len.” Iris glanced at Prue- who was smirking- in confusion, him? Looking towards where Prue nodded she gasped and shoved the pot into Prue’s hands then ran for the door.

“Barry!” 

“Excuse her, she hasn’t seen him in almost a year.” Prue told the two at the table and finished filling up their cups. Looking at Barry her smile dropped and she frowned, he seemed to blurr for a second then he had shifted a bit to one side from where he had been before, and the sound of shattering glass had her jumping and looking at Tracy with a skittish expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news, bad news. Let's start with the bad. This might be the last update for a few days, maybe one more update tonight who knows. I'm going away to a cute tiny con with my mother so it's not a bad thing lol. Good news Chapter thirteen is in the works so when i get back an update for sure :D


	9. Chapter 9

“Barry can- can you walk me home tonight?” Prue hated to ask this of her friend. After all he’d only woken up about a week or so ago. It was just that Len hadn’t responded and the creeper was becoming more bold. He was around more places and she’d seen him on her break earlier. The hooded man was outside from what she could see from the window. Barry looked up at her as did Joe and Iris, the girl’s eyes narrowed before she excused herself and grabbed Prue to drag her away.

The trio had come to the restaurant that Prue worked at for a nice dinner together to celebrate Barry waking up so Prue had tried to take the opportunity to ask for help. “Is everything okay with Len?” Prue nodded and then her eyes flicked to the window and Iris got the hint. “Selfie time.” Taking out her phone both girls smiled and put their backs to the window as Iris snapped a photo. Looking it over she saw the hooded guy across the street and her smile fell away. “I’ll tell dad. Don’t worry.”

“Barry, walk Prue home tonight.” Iris sat back down and texted both Barry and her father, the picture was zoomed in on the background and both men looked tense and alert. “Dad and I will be staying to get our food wrapped.” 

“Wait- seriously just wait. He’s been watching me for days now, I- I think he will know something is up if we leave this early.” Rubbing her arm the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. The person was watching her closely now she was sure of it. “Let me work the rest of my tables then as Tabitha to pull me up front and tell me to go home. This way it will seem more like I’m leaving and you offered.” Joe nodded and Prue hurried off to work her other two tables. She was smiling and pretending everything was just fine and the hair went down. 

“Prue!” Tabitha called and Prue went to her friend after excusing herself from a table. “Joe told me.” Her hand rubbed at Prue’s shoulder and her worry was evident. “Go home, let them walk you.” Tabitha nodded at her then patted her shoulder and turned away. Going along with the act Prue thanked her and gathered her stuff heading for the door when Barry jogged up. 

“Heading home Prue?” His voice was loud and Prue shushed him some, he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry. Just wanted to know if I could walk you. Iris mentioned you were finally dating someone and I was hoping to talk, mind if I walk with you.” 

Rubbing her face she groaned loudly, of course Iris mentioned to use that as an excuse. It had been obvious Prue had been avoiding talking to Barry about it after all. “I wouldn’t mind the company. Just know there was a reason I didn’t mention it before.” Barry nodded, if she really was seeing someone the stalker would be why she hadn't brought it up, if she wasn’t seeing someone the stalker might think she didn’t bring it up because of Barry just waking from a coma. He wasn’t sure though which was true and hoped that by the time they made it to her apartment Joe would have the guy and he’d know if Prue really was seeing someone.

“Do I know him?” Taking her bag from her he put it over his shoulder with his own and she grinned at him thankful he was carrying her bag for her.

“Nah, I met him while you were in the coma. At Jitter’s ironically. I was working on schooling and there was nowhere to sit so I kinda plopped down across from him and one thing led to another.” Barry stopped walking suddenly and stared at her, his jaw dropped and eyes wide before he narrowed then and closed his mouth. He watched her waiting for something before shaking his head.

“No, I call bull on that.” Prue sent him a scathing look and they continued to walk. “I know you Prudence and you would never ‘plop down’ across from anyone without stumbling over asking if it was okay.” The way she scowled had Barry wearing a knowing look, he was more than right. Bartholomew Allen had his the nail on the nose in a dead center bulls-eye. Talking about Len continued for the entire half hour of walking and Prue was careful not to mention Len’s name nor age or occupation. 

Tonight the last thing she wanted was to explain to Barry about how she was dating a guy old enough to be her father. Outside her place they took a few moments pause and looked up to the second floor with the darkened windows. One cracked open- “Nope.” She shook her head and turned to march away. Fuck that, “I’m spending the night at your place until it’s bright day out and I’m dragging you, your father, and Iris’ boyfriend here.” 

“Why, what’s wro- wait. Iris has a boyfriend?!” Pausing Prue glanced at the open window and considered going into her house and leaving Barry out here but the thought of who might be in there had her deciding against it.

“Barry, please,” She stressed her tone then leaned close to whisper lowly, “I locked all my windows and double checked every single one of them before I left.” Looking back Barry saw the cracked window and nodded. “Honestly I don’t think her and Eddie will even last. He’s all wrong for her-”

“Eddie?!” Barry’s cry had someone peeking out her window and she backed away and began to walk fast. He followed quickly and took note of how she’d gone pale and a thin sheen of sweat was coating her brow. “I’m texting Iris.” As they continued to walk in a straight direction, his idea, Prue would look at him and use the opportunity to check over their shoulders for any shadows moving. 

As a police cruiser pulled up, lights flashing, she thought she saw someone dart out of a shadow and away. Looking in it was Eddie and she and Barry both got in. “Barry would- would it be okay if I stayed with you for a while? At least until this is figured out I mean.” Curling up by the door to watch out the window as Eddie- who was apparently looped into this by Joe- drove towards Barry’s bare little apartment. 

“Of course.” Barry put a hand on her knee and she gave him a small strained smile. She really hoped that whatever job Len was doing would end soon and not actually last the two months he’d been thinking originally. Glancing at her phone she saw Iris had texted her the photo too, at her request, to which she saved the image and forwarded it to Len. There was a tiny bit of her that hoped as a criminal he’d be able to do something about it and get it to stop and as she thought that she realized how little faith she had in the CCPD.

“Barry,” Her voice was a low whisper as she looked at him and he met her with confusion. “I’m scared.”

.~:*:~.

It was nearly three in the morning and Barry hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He’d waited up with Prue until she’d fallen asleep and after tucking her into his bed he headed out to her place. Running fast he made there in moments unlike the nearly hour long walk they’d taken and the ten minute drive to his after. Poking through her house he took note that she really was in a relationship, unless she wore briefs now. He wrinkled his nose at that. On the table were two mugs empty of what had either been coffee or cocoa, a few note books written in shorthand yet some of it didn’t look like her shorthand, along with several text books on what he assumed was auto mechanics as she was looking into learning that. Nothing really seemed out of place to him.

It wasn’t until he entered her bedroom that he got the sense of something being off. The closet opened and he moved her clothes around and nothing was there. In each drawer he moved and everything was in place and perfectly folded (except some guy was dating his best friend and leaving clothes with hers), as he knelled down to look under the bed someone hit him in the back hard and Barry bolted. He ran out of there, shattering a window as he jumped outside, and upon landing his face moved fast enough to blur so whoever that shadow at the window was couldn’t make out his face.

The person was large, having a good few inches on an average person’s height, and they seemed fairly well built, strong. Their eyes had a fire burning in them and a gun in their hand, Barry ran again. He’d leave an anonymous tip for the CCPD about whoever was in Prue’s apartment and urge her to couch surf between him, Iris, Joe, and even Eddie until it was safe for her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took longer to post than planned. The Friday I had no time or internet to post, all weekend to sunday no internet and the drive home wore me out then monday I had work and was far too exhausted and yesterday i did laundry then passed out and slept a hella lot lol. But here you are! Chapter Ten!

Leonard Snart asked Mick to check up on his girl when he’d left knowing he could trust the man to check on his girl and make sure she was doing alright everytime he had a job. It was simple as long as Mick wasn’t busy and had no job just watch her for a day or night or even just a few hours to make sure she seemed fine. He and Mick had their differences on a job a solid few months ago and parted ways harshly, refusing to work with each other again, but they kept up the camaraderie. So when Snart checked his work phone, a disposable phone that he discarded and changed the number for with every job, and saw nothing from the man after his last check in a full week and two days ago, Leonard was annoyed.

He shot Mick a short message, a simple ‘how’s it going with my kitten?’ then got back to finalizing the plans. All he needed now was for the truck with the diamonds to come, it was scheduled for next week, and then he would be out of here within the month. His job would be done then give it a week or two for the ehat to dye down as the stolen merch hit the markets and he would be going home with a nice large paycheck.

Now if only Mick would check in saying the kitten had it’s milk, the code for Prue was doing fine and was happy, then everything would be going perfectly fine. Snarling though he slammed the burner phone down and stormed off. He needed to do something to keep his mind off of Mick’s late reply, grabbing a metal pipe he prepared to hit something. Working on his form would help to distract him well enough. He didn’t notice as one of his partners took his phone when it flashed. 

‘The kitten needs a vet still. You keep asking how it is so why do you not come to take it?’ was deleted as soon as it came and the phone put back down.Leonard wouldn’t text Mick again for a day or two- if the traitor was lucky- and hopefully they’d get the phone again between Mick’s reply and Snart seeing it.

“You’re out.” Turning his eyes went comedically wide and he paled. Everyone knew that when you were out of Snart’s plans, you were out. The gun went off with a loud bang and the traitor’s body fell to the ground, he was dead before he hit. “Anyone else wanna mess with my phone?” His three other partners back up and hurried out. Looking for the phone he made a face seeing it smashed and soaked with blood. Now he’d need a new one before he could get Mick’s reply and he’d have to meet with the man in person to get the new number to him.

“Snart!” A man hurried back in “the shipment has been moved up! Someone got wind the operation had leaked so they changed it. It’ll be here this week.” 

“Dispose of the garbage. We are ready without him for the hit.” He tossed the phone back to the ground and stopped on it to destroy every little thing within it. He wouldn’t have anything leaked from the device. “Get ready, we have a practice run in three hours.” Grabbing a rag he wiped and cleaned his hands, he needed a new phone and to contact Mick. There was one way to contact mick and let him know about the traitor and his phone, and that would be his actual phone. The one that Prue had the number to. He knew if he read her texts he would be distracted and his mind not being on the job could end with him getting killed or failing, and Leonard Snart was not a failure.

.~:*:~.

Mick Rory stood outside the restaurant that the Kitten worked in. He didn’t know her name and Leonard refused to tell him it. Mick couldn’t just go in and ask for Kitten. It would be weird and he’d likely be made. Instead he waited for her to come out with her friend, the tall one, and as they headed towards his hime Mick exited the alley and bumped into her. His hand slipped into her pocket and the note was left behind. The fear had him hesitating and he spoke hoping to alleviate her some. “Sorry, Kitten, hope you’re fine.” 

He continued to walk away like calling someone Kitten was the same as saying babe or broad or whatever other terms were used. Leonard was compromised he was sure, the odd text a few days ago and lack of reply to his own was proof enough and he’d destroyed his phone like Leonard had instructed before getting a new one and waiting. This simple babysitting job had lost its simplicity the moment someone started to stalk her and as such he was now stalking them. 

“Do you know that guy?” Kitten’s friend asked as Mick moved into another alley to wait.

“No. But I wouldn’t worry about it. If he was the guy, we'd know it.” Kitten looked at the alley and gave a tiny nod, she understood his message, that Leonard had sent him and she was being looked after. “Come on, Barry, you’ve got some pining to do over Iris while watching an Ultimate Spiderman Marathon with me anyway.” 

Mick came out of the alley as the two turned a corner and his grin widened, her hand was in her pocket as she fingered the note and he had a solid update to give Leonard, about this Barry too and how the kid was no threat, in love with the black girl who was dating the father cop’s young partner. This was like some shitty soap opera and Mick got one hell of a kick out of it. Checking the time he had about an hour to spare until he needed to be in the spot that Leonard had designated for if they were compromised. 

He supposed he could follow the slow boy and Kitten to his place and listen a bit to the pining they had mentioned. “It’s just… Iris and Eddie. That’s Joe’s partner!” His whine annoyed Mick but he knew it would lead to interesting stories to share with Leonard. 

“You’re more upset that she’s sleeping with someone that’s not you.” Mick covered his mouth before he belted with laughter, he could see why Snart liked this chick. When comfortable with someone she had a snarky side that rivaled Snart’s own. Maybe when she was brought into their side of the world he’d get to know her more and see that side first hand. 

“So says the girl who won’t even tell me her boyfriend’s name, age, or anything!” So the little boy didn’t know that Snart was her’s or that Snart was nearly as old as himself, he was forty-three so Snart was like forty now. Mick really hoped he would be around when this slow kid learned that Kitten was dating someone almost twice their own age. The two children bickered the entire way to the slow boy’s place and Mick checked the time before grunting. Damn slowboy had taken so long that he would need to rush to make it to the meeting place and he was going to miss the talk about pining.

Perhaps if Snart learns she’s been sleeping at men’s houses he would let Mick burn the places to the ground. Licking his lips he could only hope but he was fairly sure that when Snart had promised fire would be involved at the end it would be for the job rather than the task. Just as Mick was about to leave he saw the slow boy get up to answer his phone then rush out, he hurried off and she watched him from the window, eyes narrowed as if waiting for something and then Mick saw it. This was an opportunity. One her stalker wouldn’t pass up and as such he would have to skip the meeting place.

Snart would let him burn anything for doing this if his intuition was right, and while he wasn’t the smartest he listened to his gut. Staying in the shadows he felt his gun and grinned as the stalker melted out of a shadow and quickly went into the apartment building. Mick would take his head as leave it for Snart. Inside he knew where the girl would be and the door was already broken down and kicked in. Snarling he pushed the door down and hurried in to where there was a small sound. 

Gagged she looked at Mick then her eyes darted to the side and he tensed, arm lifting in time to take the hit and he grinned. “S’all good, Kitten.” Spinning he put his fist into the man’s face and then grabbed the dazed guy. Her fear was evident so rather than shooting the guy- Snart may shot him if he caused the chick to be too scared- he wrapped an arm around the man’s neck and held tight. “Close yer eyes. You don’t need to see this.” 

Tears were dripping from the corner of her eyes and Mick wondered if she was too scared to close them. But then she lifted her hands, one cuffed the other oddly not, to cover her ears and she closed her eyes tight. Soft humming came from her, one of those stupid but popular songs, as she tried to drown out any to all sounds. “Good girl,” Mick purred and in one swift motion snapped the man’s neck. Moving to her he touched her hands and pulled them off her ears. “Keep your eyes closed, count to one hundred then call for help.” From his pocket he pulled out a pick kit and worked to release her cuffed hand. He pocketed them, “One, two, three,” Mick urged and she picked up for him.

“Four, five, six,” Going to the man he hefted the body up and looked at her a final time, “twelve, thirteen, fourteen,” leaving the place he knew he had to either bust Snarts operation or sneak in. First he had to do something with this body and hit up the meeting place.


	11. Chapter 11

“Sorry I had to leave there was som- Prue?!” Barry had been needed back at Star labs to stop an armored truck robbery, some big time thief called Leonard Snart had nearly succeeded in the robbery. He’d gotten away because Barry had to get the shot guard to the hospital. Now that he was back he saw the broken door, the slight mess that was his living room, and Prue working to clean up a broken glass. 

Getting to her side he stopped her shaking hands and noticed the red marks. “It’s- it’s fine.” Her words were low and she was shaken. “The- the stalker is gone.” The way she stressed the word left Barry with little doubt as to what ‘gone’ meant. “I think… you should know the truth Prue. I’m-” his phone began to Ring and he grunted as he pulled it out. “Captain- I- I know but- there was an emergency- I- I’m on my way.”

Standing up Barry went to his door and fixed it as best as he could. Prue rubbed at her arm as she stood up, abandoning the glass to watch him. “I guess you’re heading back out?” Looking at her he knew he couldn’t just leave her, she was shaking like a leaf and her face was pale.

“No, we are heading out. I shouldn’t take you to a crime scene but Joe will understand and he can talk to the captain.” Walking together he tugged hard at his door, jamming it shut so it wouldn’t fall down, and they walked together to public transit then to the scene. 

.~:*:~.

“You’re late. And who the hell is this? You can’t just bring your girlfriend to a crime scene Allen.” Joe came over and his eyes took her in before Barry and him made eye contact and they shared a small nod.

“Actually, Captain, I asked him to bring her. This is that girl I told you about, the one who’s being stalked. I haven’t been able to get her official statement yet and I figured since they were friends he could go pick her up on his way and after I’ll take the statement.” Prue moved towards the care Eddie leaned against and he let her sit in the driver’s seat.

“Considering you are here, something must have happened.” Eddie didn’t ask for details and she didn’t give them. She was still trying to figure out how to explain everything to Barry let alone to everyone else. Prue felt like she needed to come clean, to let Barry and Joe and Eddie know that she was being stalked most likely because her boyfriend was some kind of criminal- which she refused to learn more about least she be in even more danger. 

If someone was to ask how she made it out today she knew she was a terrible liar, not to mention they all knew she wasn’t strong enough to fend off an attack. No matter what he gym routine was she wasn’t bulked up nor was she super strong, mostly her stamina had been up because of her gym visits. What was she going to say? ‘Oh my criminal boyfriend has one of his lackeys following me around when he’s out on a job to make sure im safe.’, yeah sure, that will go over real well in a family of cops.

Joe was a detective, his entire life was about finding guys like Len and putting them behind bars. Barry wanted justice for all those wronged like his father and Len is the one stealing from people. She knew he was a thief but not exactly of what. By the time they were done looking over the scene and Barry and Joe sharing a whispered secret conversation that had Eddie pausing in his griping about Iris’ father being mad, Prue just wanted to sleep. 

“Come on, all of us are going to the station. You,” Joe pointed at Prue, “need to give me a statement to turn in to the captain or we will all be in trouble.” His finger shifted to twirl around showing it was their little rag tag group of four at the car that would be in trouble. Eddie stupidly spoke up instead of just accepting it.

“Me? I kept out of it, like yo said Joe, personal life is not what we have, we are just professional-” Prue kicked Eddie and shot him a look that had him shutting up as he realized that he shouldn’t have even spoken in the first place. “Okay, Prue move over I’ll drive us.” 

.~:*:~.

“-at’s almost as bad as Bartholomew.” Barry’s voice carried and Prue perked up hopeful. Perhaps she could give that stupid statement and go home now.

“Snart’s not that sexy either.” Joe urged and she knew they were talking about name’s. Her own had been how her and Barry first met, the teacher had went through the list of names and Barry had come up to her and asked what kind of name was Prudence, to which she’d mimicked his joke with asking about Bartholomew. “....Bad cop. Took his anger out on his kids until he went to Prison.”

“Snart’s dad is in prison too? We should start a club. Prue’s mother, my father, and his dad. How’d we all end up with the weird ass names and terrible parent history? We all are so similar but so different. She’s average, I’m the- ow!” He must have ended up kicking a desk, “and Snart’s a criminal.” 

“He shows up like every six months, he cases a job for a few weeks before he makes his move, then he does the job-- and gets away.” Prue’s heart clenched and she spaced out. Wait. Every six months?

She met Len nine months ago when he disappeared for a month. Then a few months ago he as away for another job, and this one seemed a bit of a rush to get done. Said something about a time table and it being moved up so he was leaving early. A cold drop of sweat trickled down her back. Had she just witnessed one of his crime scenes? But she heard nothing was taken. Had he failed?

Iris showed up startling Joe and Barry and Prue watched the man give his daughter a cold shoulder as Barry took the coffee. Iris caught her eye and offered up the one for her father which had been turned down and she took it before hurrying after Joe. Statement and then shadowing Barry. “Do you have any idea why someone is following you?” That’s how it started and Prue just stared at him.

“I don’t want to give a statement, Joe. I think- I think I’m good now.” At his look she glanced to the cup and just sat there until the words finally came. “The person broke into Barry’s while he stepped out this morning. Then someone else came and stopped them. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Joe leaned on his desk and rubbed his face as he looked her over then his head shook. “What did you get into.” It wasn’t a question directed to her but more at her. He knew she had started seeing someone as Iris didn’t know how to keep her mouth shut, but Prue was always careful about keeping the details to a minimum and not spreading rumors herself. “Listen, Prue, I know some of your story not all of it. Your mother, your father, the bad foster situations, but you’ve been good for a while now and only after Iris mentioned you dating someone did this start up. Is it him? Did he do something? You can trust me.” Closing his book he pushed it away and looked to the captain that was eying him from the other room.

“Iris was mentioning a trivia night, why not go with her and then stay with us tonight. We can talk there and no one will know anything you say but me.” 

“Joe, he’s not a good guy like you, but he’s good for me. I know his way of doing things can be seen as… unconventional but he gets what he needs done and keeps me out of it. If this is me being pulled in he’s going to make sure that it doesn’t happen when he gets back. For now… one of his friends is around and the stalker is gone. You’ve been looking for the guy for weeks and haven’t found him, the one day his friend is here and he catches the guy. If I’d known playing bait would have drawn him out I would have let us use me as such.”

Prue sat back in her chair and took a sip of the coffee, the caffeine nearly immediately having a calming effect on her and she knew it wasn’t good for her. Just like Len wasn’t good for her. He was good but not in the correct way for normal people. Not like Iris should be good for Barry if she and the boy had just admitted to it. Joe rubbed at his face and he glanced to the book to his side before opening it up and setting it in front of her. “Just look though this as if you are looking for your stalker.” Huffing she slowly flipped the pages. Pausing and pretending to look closely at a few of the images when Barry and… a pretty blonde came. 

“Prue, this is Felicity Smoak, from Star City.” Prue smiled at her and shook her hand before flipping another page. “What are you doing?” Barry looked at the book he’d been looking through before and Prue paused on the page with Leonard Snart. He watched as her eyes looked the picture over and her fingers played with the corner of the page before flipping it to the next.

“Looking for my stalker. Or rather pretending to because your captain keeps looking this way and I don’t want anyone to get in trouble.” She flipped the pages quickly as she pretended to look before stilling in the R’s. “Rory, Mick; who’s this guy?” Barry shrugged and looked around for Joe. “Joe went with Eddie to case the museum in case your bad guy showed up.”

Reaching out Barry flipped the pages back a few before landing on Snart. “He shot a guard, or one of his men did. But he’d the leader.” Prue looked at the image closely before humming. 

“What is he, like forty?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need your advice, readers! I have a good spot that would be hella cute to end at (which means it would be time to end and go through and edit this entire thing) but idk if i should or not! If any of you wanna give me advice it would be greatly appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

Fear filled Prue as she began to enter her house. The stalker was gone, yes, but something just fell off and it wasn’t just that one of her windows was shattered and broken. Entering the dark and oddly cold apartment she tried her light switches but nothing. Walking through her living room she felt and heard the glass crunch under her shoes and was glad she hadn’t taken them off like usual. An odd shape was in one of her chairs and as soon as she got close to the person they stood. 

Stumbling back Prue was ready to bolt but when large hands landed on her shoulders she knew it was too late. All she had wanted was clean clothes. Swallowing hard she tried to wiggle free but the hands held her tighter and the man in the chair began to laugh. Stomach clenching she let out a small sound and the laughter picked up. It rang all around her as her heart beat heavily making it hard to breath. “No, no please-, no!” 

A gasp escaped her as she rolled off what she’d assumed was her bed and hit the ground, her blanket falling to cover her and hide her from whatever shadow monsters may be haunting her. Laying there on the cold wooden floor she tried to recall her nightmare but the more she tried to tug at the threads of fear the less she remembered. Heaving a sigh she reached towards where she thought the bed would be and felt nothing, then to the other side and still nothing. Confused now even more she threw the blanket off and sat up to look around and found herself in Joe’s foyer.

Shakily she stood up and the boards creaked, pausing where she was she looked towards the living room and the lump on the couch shifted and then settled. The guest room, Barry’s room technically, was where she was staying tonight and Barry gladly took the couch. Somewhere Iris was sleeping and in a room that Joe had pointed to he slept. Right now everyone was asleep except her and she had somehow managed to sleepwalk out of the room and downstairs without waking anyone up. What she didn’t understand was that everytime she shifted her weight Barry seemed to twitch and she feared waking him, so how had she managed to make it down and lay down? And why did her back actually feel tender if she hadn't fallen out of bed?

Looking up she wondered if she had fallen right through the ceiling but then shook her head. Impossible- as she took the first step she froze. Maybe… The vague memory of a car barreling towards her, her freezing up and just tensing as if that would help her, and then looking at the car now behind her- as if it had driven through her. Swallowing hard she looked up at the ceiling and shuddered. No, it couldn’t be. She wasn’t like those monsters that were showing up.

Prue was a normal person who worked long hours and struggled to survive. Except since the explosion she wasn’t. She had given up on her crush, found someone else to love, was dating someone twice her age, knowingly kept information about a wanted criminal’s where abouts from the police, and told no one about a murder she was 99.9% sure had happened. There was something different about her and she wasn’t sure what to think about i- her phone buzzed in her pocket and pulling it out she abandoned the blanket on the ground to hurry outside, damned be Barry if he woke up, and answer it.

“Kitten,” Len’s voice nearly had her falling to her knees with relief. He was back,or would be really soon, and he was calling her. Everything would be alright. “I’m on my way home, where are you?”

“My friend’s place. Len- please pick me up?” Prue’s voice cracked and she reached up to her face, her cheeks were wet. Tears were falling and she felt something in her chest that had her wanting to curl up and finally just let it all out.

“Don’t cry, Kitten. I’ll be there in a few hours. Turn your phones tracking on for me so I can follow it.” She sniffled and nodded, doing so immediately and she sat on the porch. “You must have been so scared.” His voice was soft, the fondness evident to her.

“I- I wasn’t. It’s hitting me now though. Ever since your friend…”

“Friend?” His tone turned sharp and she went rigid from where she sat. She didn’t even notice behind her as someone stood there watching her. “What ‘friend’? I have no friends.” Was Mick Rory not sent by Len, had the man been there for reasons other than to keep her safe? 

Opening and closing her mouth several times she tried to figure out what to say when a shadow to her left shifted and her breathing hitched. Looking over her shoulder she saw Barry and heaved a sigh. “Barry, what are you doing up?” Moving the phone away from her ear and face down into her lap she knew Len would be able to hear but wouldn’t say anything back at the moment.

“Sorry, Prue, heard you out here and came to check up. Is that your mysterious boyfriend?” SHe nodded and Barry put the blanket she’d abandoned on the stairs over her shoulders. “He’s lucky to have you. Don’t stay out here too long, alright.” Something about the way he looked her over told her that there was something different about the saw he saw her, like he knew some secrete she had kept hidden.

Barry kneeled down and pressed his lips to her forehead making her jaw drop and eyes go wide. “I’m glad you finally found someone.”

The moment the door closed she lifted the phone again and smiled. “Len, can you stay on the phone with me? At least until I fall asleep?” He chuckled and she smiled as she pulled the blanket tight around her, for the first time since he left almost a month ago she felt right. It didn’t matter anymore if she fell through the floor or walked in her sleep, if she is different now than she was nine months ago, all that she cared about what the man that laugh belonged to. Not even the stalker worried her anymore. “Mick.” SHe said suddenly as she held the phone to her ear and his breath caught. “That was the guy’s name i think. Your friend- or the one I thought was your friend.”

“Yeah, Kitten, he’s my friend. Tell me what happened. I saw your texts and then you went silent today. I haven't gotten in contact with him yet.” Prue bit her lip and looked around, checking behind her towards the door to just double check that Barry wasn’t about to sneak back out. “Kitten?”

“He killed him, Len. Your friend killed the guy and saved me. Can you tell him thank you?” SIlence then laughter. SHe smiled as Len laughed hard, Prue knew that as an average girl some of the things she was okay with had him pausing in soch then laughing with the surprise. She supposed this was one of those times.

“I’ll tell him, Kitten, don’t you worry.”

.~:*:~.

Prue had fallen asleep on the porch, speaking softly with Leonard until the sun began to peek over the horizon when her memory went fuzzy and the last thing she heard was Len snickering at her. He wouldn’t tell her to go to bed, he was far too possessive and loved stealing every moment of hers. He reveled in how much she adored him and that she deemed him worth staying up for. 

Most times he’d just show up after a small quick job but sometimes when she’d texted him and seemed stressed he would call her. This time had been exceptionally stressful. He’d called the moment he’d read all of her messages and she’d answered. Snart had asked why she was up and she told the truth, a nightmare. Eyes fluttered and a whimper escaped her as someone touched her.

Phone taken and hung up before being shoved into the pocket of her sweats then an arm around the back of her shoulders and she was pushed down enough to have her head lull into the person’s neck. Then an arm went under her knees and she was being lifted up. “Go back to sleep, Kitten. Find me after you rest.” His lips pressed to her forehead as he snuck into the West’s home. It was simple enough for him to find the room she should have been in and upon tucking her in kissed her softly and left.

Had he known that leaving her there would have been what led to what happened next, he would have secreted her away and not leave his side until his next job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys may ALWAYS comment with things you'd like to see or wish to have seen, btw. My plan for this story is once I finish it go back and rewrite every single chapter, add lots of details and change up bits and pieces, maybe even add in more chapters. So if lets say you reach chapter eight and wished there had been something done that wasn't, or if you read this chapter and would really like to see something happen in a future chapter just comment and I will take every comment into serious consideration. :)


	13. Chapter 13

Leaving the West place feeling better than she had all month long Barry smiled as he walked by Prue’s side. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.” Teasingly he poked her cheek and she swatted the finger away. “He’s really lucky, gotta be one hell of a guy to have stolen your heart.” As they approached the bus stop she looked up at him and snorted.

“It’s thanks to you really. Your coma I mean. Had you not fallen into one I would never have ended up at Jitters the day I met him.” Never gotten over her crush either. As Barry looked away and rubbed at his neck she knew he knew her dark secret. “You know I used to be head over heels for you.”

He made some non-committal sound and she laughed at him. “Alright, yeah. Iris told me not long ago. I’m sorry, I really am. All those times I went on and on about Iris and you…” 

“And I was thinking those same exact things about you.” Her grin widened and her cheeks grew slightly pink. “I’m glad though, Barry. Had we been a thing I would have waited. Len would never have been given a chance and we fit just right. He’s things I’m not and I’m things he’s not. It’s like a puzzle, we could have fit but it wasn’t the right fit. Len and I, we are right.”

“Well I’m glad then. When do I get to meet him?” Prue made a face and Barry leaned against the bus stop pole as he watched her. “What? Is he like some kind of criminal or something?” Prue looked away and Barry straightened. Not what he’d expected. “Prue, who is he?”

“Don’t know. Never going to because I don’t want to. I told him the moment i learned he was a criminal I don’t want to know his real name, his last name, or any crimes or jobs or whatever he does. All I need to know is him and he doesn’t mind keeping me out of his business like that. He has friends, a family, he’s smart and kind, all I need to know is all I do know. He’s a good guy to me, Barry. His crimes are a different life I’m not going to be involved in. Whatever job he does he waits few days toa week or so before even contacting me depending on how he sees the danger to me.”

Barry went to argue, he was going to tell her she was wrong and that this relationship no matter how good it felt was bad. THere was a compelling argument more than ready to be made by him when the shriek of tires caught his attention and he was moving fast to push her out of the way. The car hit him and threw him away, knocking him to the ground in pain. Prue’s shriek caught his attention and then she was shoved in a black car. Struggling to stand he barely managed to jump out of the way as it tried to hit, succeeding in grazing him, then was gone.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” Barry repeated several times far too fast for anyone to be able to understand even if he had wanted anyone to. Grabbing his phone he dialed Cisco, “BR384H, Black Ford, a small four door car, tinted windows- I don’t know the make or model. They took her, Cisco. They took my friend.”

Cisco had written down what barry listed off and ran a check and grimaced, an unregistered vehicle if he was right. THe plates matched a toyota highlander and that would be hard to mistake as a small car so they were either stolen or the Toyota was a fake. “Barry, where are you? What happened? Why couldn’t you just run after the car?”

“They hit me, my leg is broken I think, it feels like it’s healing but... “ Barry tried to stang and let out a howl of pain.

“Stay there Barry, I’m tracking your phone- Joe is close by. I’ll call him and get him to bring you here.” There was a click as the line died and Barry dragged himself to a safer spot than the middle of the road. As he sat there dread filled him and a cold sweat trickled down his back. He had a feeling this ahd to do with the stalker of Prue’s which most likely had to do with whatever criminal boyfriend she now ahd. Seeing as he couldn’t move and had to wait for Joe he could only think.

Poor Prue- if these were legit criminals (and from how effective and fast this entire snatch and grab had been Barry was willing to bet they were) she was in serious danger. THe difference between his enemies as the flash and these kinds of criminals were miles. The guys he dealt with would be child’s play without their powers. THey wanted one thing and wouldn’t stoop to certain offences no matter what. 

Grabbing ang torturing a young woman would be more of Snart’s ploy, as he had shown by grabbing Caitlyn, but even he had made sure that Caitlyn wasn’t actually hurt or tortured. He had been the work of the criminals Barry had fought. Many Meta’s were okay with killing but few ever even considered torture. Snart’s kind, the human kind, were the real monsters. They lived and thrived on pain, torture, rape, and many more unspeakable deeds. Meta’s weren’t unecessary in their ploys, they wouldn’t take a pretty girl off the street to use as bait and torture her. The ‘men’ that had grabbed Prue would, simply because they felt like it.

“Bare!” Looking up at Joe he hesitated. If Joe knew who had grabbed her he might know where they went or at the very least what hs friend would suffer. “What the hell happened?”

“I- we were waiting for the bus. They came out of nowhere, Joe. THey hit me and then grabbed her and took off. They didn't use any powers and they were fast and- and efficient. I think they were normal men.” As his adoptive father looked him over Barry felt him pause, just a split second of hesitation, but that was all eh’d needed to reaffirm his fears. He hoped that the worst they would do to Prue was torture her. Pull her teeth or nails, break her fingers and bones, anything physical like that would be far better than what he was sure they would do to such a pretty young woman like her.

“Let’s get you to Caitlyn then we can figure this out. Cisco said he was working on the camera’s already and was sending a message to Felicity for hacking help. The sooner we get you back on your feet, the sooner you can run after her.” Joe helped him up onto his good leg then helped him hobble over to the car and get into the back. It was as he was speeding that BArry felt like he figured something out.

“This has to have something to do with her boyfriend Joe. SHe admitted that he was some sort of criminal and with the guy that had been following her around and last night she was on the phone, whoever she’s seeing was able to speak with ehr and I think they are back or will be soon. She mentioned that after he finished whatever she wanted no involvement in he would wait until it was safe to contact ehr.”

“Iris.” Joe said as he held out his phone to BArry. “Call Iris, tell her to meet me at the precinct. I’ll have her go through wanted criminal pages, she knows who he is, has seen him. All I know is his name is Len but that could be short for-”

“Snart.” BArry huffed out as they hit a bump. “I saw her looking at the mug shots and she paused on him.” Taking the phone anyway Barry texted Iris a photo of Leonard Snart and asked if she had ever seen him before. Her reply was minutes later, as they pulled up to STAR labs, that the image looked like Prue’s boyfriend a bit.

Caitlyn reset his leg and after a few minutes of mind numbing agony, having blacked out for a few seconds at one point, he got his suit on and looked over at Cisco. “Contact Leonard Snart,” Cisco made some kind of confused sound that was almost a ‘wha-how-hy?’ sound, “pull up Prue’s phone bills- my friend the one that was…- and whoever she messaged the most should be him.” If anything Snart could be goaded into going after her himself and Cisco could track him.

An hour later, and a skype call to Felicity for help, Barry had a phone to his ear, number being scrambled through a hundred random ones around the city. The other line answered by said nothing and BArry knew Snart wasn’t stupid, he would hang up quickly if need be or wait depending. “Snart.”

Barry could practically hear what would be a smirk in the man’s voice as he retorted, “Flash.” 

There was no time for games, not ones as petty as Snart seemed to want to play. “They have Prudence Forester.” 

Snart hanging up took him by surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, life happened. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
